Sporting CP x FC Barc€lona - Champion$ L€agu€

********ing garbage crosses from Bruno Cesar

 

Some good chances here man

 

Coates has been our worst player by far. Just f'ing terrible today.

 

These guys are spent I think. Tough loss to take, I give them credit though, they played hard. Patrício huge again.

 

Battaglia and Mathieu have been beasts. Ball is not coming off Bruno Fernandes’ foot right though

 

Another moral victory. Champions of the Moral Victory Champions League.

This is why you don't rest players in the league.

 

Bruno Cesar with one last god awful cross for good measure.

Dude needs to just off himself already. He belongs on Penafiel or some shit.

 

Our passing was atrocious lol 69%

 

Coates really was bad today. Even if you take away the own goal, he got bailed out big time by Mathieu and Patrício on separate occasions

 

Curious as to why Podence doesn't see minutes over Cesar.

 

I thought this too! Like he would've been perfect for this game.

Ah well if you compare our loss to Benfica its practically a win so on to the real match - Porto

 

Also Dost needs to train shooting until the Porto game, man seems like he has no confidence! He had a glorious chance vs. Ter Stegen but decided to leave it for Bruno who had a worse angle.

 

Obviously, aside from Coates directing the ball into his own goal, this was the moment of the game for me. 64-36 possession didn’t bother me, you’re not gonna win possession against Barcelona. And even with our poor passing rate we still managed some pretty good chances, and that was one of them. That was THE one, that was golden. How a player who was neck and neck with Lionel Messi last season for golden shoe doesn’t have the taste for blood in that instant (or all the time) is something I can’t comprehend. If it is confidence, I’m wondering if it was his foot speed in his head at that moment. There were a few times in the game where a Through ball would’ve or could’ve been placed for him to spring open but he’s just not fast enough. It’s a shame Doumbia came out hurt. Cause I think some of the opportunities that presented in the second half were better primed for a player of Doumbia’s make up.

 

Doumbia had opportunities at the edge of the box multiple times. But instead of taking them, he decided to dive and do a bunch of other stupid shit.

 

Unfortunately I had to listen to Benfica getting gaped for the majority of the first half so I wasn’t sure of how Doumbia was performing. I just feel like the open field on the counter attack and even from the turnovers we forced in their own end would’ve better suited Doumbia on the run.


I want a hat trick from Dost on Sunday, need a little bit of faith restored, plus we need a new dragon slayer anyway

 

I had to take a reality shower to cool off. Yeah it was Barcelona, but damn, at least a draw should have happened. Bost, as already mentioned , seems unable to shoot currently, passing the glory away to BC, who , tbh, wasn't really expecting that pass and blew the chance to equalize the score. The passing was atrocious, with BF really suck on the night, jitters ? Coates attempt at dribbling should cease forever. MISSED OPPORTUNITY.

 

My ratings:

Patricio - If you don't count the own goal he kept everything out; saved us on a few key moments to keep us in the match. 8/10

Piccini - Good game from Piccini, again shows he's defensively solid and tailored for these games, have to say he's a player who I criticized but he's been getting better each game; still needs to improve offensively as Gelson thrives with a full back that attacks, which is why I still want to see Ristovski. 8/10

Coates - Bad game, he'll be remembered for the own goal but tried too hard to play out the back dribbling against Messi and Suarez; too many mistakes for someone of his experience. 6/10

Mathieu - Not only our best defender but our best player. Another player I had questions about because of his recent past but he shut me up good. Positioning, speed, timing was almost perfect. He was on a mission. 9/10

Coentrao - Continues to leave everything on the field even if he still can't stay on the field 90 minutes. Competent performance. 7/10

Battaglia - When we paid cash + Jefferson + Esgaio I was like "huh?!" But he's become one of my favourite players so far. He's so important as he gives both William and Bruno freedom. He was sorely missed vs. Moreirense and has to start vs. Porto. Oh... and when he got home that night he emptied his pockets and found his car keys, lint, and Messi. Just needs to be more comfortable with the ball at his feet. 8/10

William - Great game, these are the games where he needs to show off, not at a West Ham. Again, him and Battaglia complement eachother so well and this midfield duo has to play all the league + European games no questions asked. 8/10

Gelson - Had extra defensive duties today as Alba was making lots of runs forward which affected his performance overall. Barca marked him out of the game. 6.5/10

Acuna - always hustling, puts in the work and puts in good crosses. I hope he can start evolving and cutting inside more, but good game (except for giving away the foul that led to the goal) 7/10

Bruno Fernandes - Had to run a lot (I think he was the player who ran the most yesterday) so he looked totally fatigued, hope he recovers for Porto - wasn't his best game for us though. 6.5/10

Doumbia - Played only one half and subbed off through injury, hopefully nothing serious. Didn't have much impact though but still in better form than Dost at the moment. 6.5/10

Subs:
Dost - Who are you and what did you do with the real Dost? We already discussed his missed chance earlier. To sum it up, he needs to score a goal, even a crummy one! 6/10

Bruno Cesar - This sub reminds me of something I thought yesterday. We needed to make a change to try and equalize, JJ turns to the bench and sees: Bruno Cesar, Alan Ruiz, Jonathan Silva... wouldn't it make more sense to have Podence on the bench who can bring some energy, pace and unpredictability? As for Bruno, he had a few good first months when he joined us, but now it's clear he doesn't have the quality. 6/10

Jonathan Silva - Actually didn't have a bad game after he entered. Replaced Coentrao and did his defensive duty. 6.5/10

 

If we play our best team and without fear we can definitely get a result.

 

This idiot kissing Messi's boot will cost Sporting an Uefa fine

 

Should get him to pay the fine.

Here's the post match press conference - I know a lot of people might not be a fan of JJ in recent games but this press conference really shows his footballing know-how: